Driving-gear for automobiles.



J. A. SOHARF. DRIVING GEAR FOR AUTOMOBILES. APPLIUATION FILED JUNE 23, 1909.

975,290. Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR c 072 JZJc/zarf y ATTORNEYS J A. SGHA'RF. DRIVING GEAR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

- APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23, 1909. 975,290. Patented Nov.8, 1910.

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Patented Nov. 8,1910.

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WITNESSES INVENTOR W f g 'zflcycha ef ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. S' CHARF, or rtrcnwoon; oH'io.

DRIVING-GEAR FOR AUTOMOBILES.

I Specification of Letters Patent. Patented NOV. .8, 1910.

Application filed June 23, 1969. Serial No. 503,827.

i To all who'm it may concern:

' Be it known that I, JOHN. 'A. SCHARF, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of Richwood, .in the county of Union and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Driving-Gear for Automobiles,

of which :the following is a full, clear, and

exact description.

The principal objects which the present invention has in view are: To provide a running gear for automobiles, in which the mechanical expedients of positively engaged members successively operated, are'avoided; to provide a running gear for automobiles wherein the equalizing gear comprised of cog wheels, is avoided; to provide a differential action for the driving wheels of the run-- ning gear, actuated by the steering gear; and to provide a simple, efficient and durable mechanism for operating the driving Wheels of the running gear.

One embodiment of the present invention is disclosed in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like char- 5 acters of reference denote, corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevationlof an automobile chassis provided witha running gear constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view from above, of the same, showing the driving disks in position to produce a forward drive of the running gear; Fig. 3 is a plan View from below, showing the operating parts in the same position as illustrated in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 1s a cross section of the frame, and operating mechanism, taken on the line 4-4 1n Fig. 1;

- Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail View in longitudinal section, of the driving disks mounted on the engine shaft, and showing in elevation one of the transmission disks; Fig. 6 is a View taken vertically through'the transmission disks, showing in cross section the engine shaft and operating members connected therewith; and-Fig. 7 is a detail view, enlarged, of the speed control levers and differential mechanism.

The engine shaft 8 is provided at the for- [ward end with cranks 9, 9 and a clutch 10,

much as in the present formsof driving mechanism for automobiles. The shaft is mounted securely, and lined up on a frame 11. Fixedly'mounted upon the shaft 8 are two large driving disks 12, 12, provided with any suitable form of friction face, and the are mounted in bearings in boxes 16, 16 and in a vertical position.

disks 12, 12 are so mounted that the friction I face of each'is turned toward the other disk.

The disks 12, 12 are rotated with the shaft 8 when the clutch 10 is thrown into engagement, the speed of the disks being the same as that produced on the crank shaft. The starting and stopping levers which are connected with the clutch 10 are not illustrated in the present drawings.

Mounted'so as to extend between the disks 12, 12 are transmission friction wheels 13, 13,

provided with friction surfaces of suitable construction on their peripheries, adapted to I engage the surfaces of the disks 12, 12 in strong frictional engagement. The wheels 13, 13 areslidably mounted upon shafts 14, 14 on which they are guided by feathers 15',

15- extended through the greater part of the length of the shafts 14, 14. The shafts 14, 14

l7, 17. The boxes 17, 17 are pivoted at 18,

18 in brackets 19, 19 rigidly secured upon the V hanger 26 is provided with the collars 27. 27

through which the shaft 8 passes, and is maintained in a vertical position by a rod 28- extended within a recess formed in the upper extension 29 of the said hanger. The hanger is held in its longitudinal position on the shaft 8 by set collars 30, '30 which are secured upon the shaft by set screws 31. 31.

Between thecollars 30, 30 and the collars 27, 27 are mounted heavy compression springs 32, 32, which are provided to relieve any undue strain exerted upon the friction wheels 13, '13against the disks 12, 12.

The levcrs23, 23 are extended downward and through guide slots 33 formed in a. plate 34 extendedbelow the hanger 26. and secured to the cross members of the frames 11, .11 beyond the disks 12. '12. The slots 33 likewise. assist in maintaining the hanger 26 I To the ends of the levers 23 are secured pull rods 35, 35. which connect the ends of the lovers 23 with a rocking bandit: The connections between the rods 35,35 and the said rocking bar are on opposite sides of a pivot 37 aboutrwhich the sa1dbar'36r'otates. The bar 36 is extended, and atom end it'is connected witha rod 38, connected with a lever 39 iv'oted at 40 upon a bracket 41, rigidly mounted upon the plate 34. The lower end of the lever 39 is connectedby rods 73, 73 to the ends of cranks 42, 43, the former of which is extended above and the latter is extended below, a pivot rod 44 to which both cranks are, fixedly secured (see .Fig. 40f the drawings) To the pivot rod 44 are suitably connected pedals 45 and 46,'having foot rests located within the body of the automobile, and convenient to the foot of the chauffeur. By reason of theextension of the cranks I 42 and.43 in opposite directions, whenever the one or the other 'of the pedals 45 or 46 is depressed by the foot of the chauffeur, the lever 39 is thrown backward or drawn toward the front of the vehicle. As the le var-'39 is thus moved, the bar 36 is rocked I longitudinally, the-wheels 13, '13 are caused to approach .and recede from either of the upon its pivot 37, to change the relative positions of the ends of the levers 23, 23, through the pull rods 35, 35.

By the mounting above described'of .the shafts 14, 14 in the boxes 17, 17 and 16, 16, the latter of which are adapted to be shifted disks 12, 12. The disks 12,12 are rotated constantly in one direction and the wheels '13, 13 contact with the said disks on opposite sides thereof.

' By-the construction wherein the boxes 16,

16 are mounted u on the levers 23, 23 the movement whereo is controlled by a sin le member, to wit: the rocking bar 36,-"the re ative movement of the said wheels'is equal and opposite, Henee,:when the wheel on one side of the "longitudinal center is engaged with the disk 12 forward of the shafts.

14, the opposite wheel 13 is engaged with the rearwardly disposed disk 12. In thisposition there is imparted to'each of the wheels 13 the same rotary direction, which,

being transmitted to the shafts 14, 14 is by them transmitted to the drivingwheels of the automobile." -When either of the pedals 45 or 46 which has caused the engagement of the wheels 13, 13 with the disks-12, 12 is. released, the boxes 16, 16 are moved 'to' their median position, drawing both wheels 13, 13 from the disks 12, 12. In this position,-

no driving power being applied to the shafts vl4,"l4,,th"e automobile runs free or is brought to a stop-byv manipulating the brake mechanism. p

As shown in the present drawings, the pedal 46.when depressed, as shown in Fig. 1, causesthe engagement of the wheels 13, 13 with the disks 12. 12, to produce a forward drive on the running gear of the automobile. "When it is desired to reverse the driving of the running gear of the automobile, the

pedal 46 is released, and the pedal 45 is depressed, causing a reverse en agement of the wheels 13, 13 with the isks 12, 12, wherein the wheels 13, 13 receive the opposite rotary. motion from the said disks 12, 12.

Having thus described the mechanism whereby the driving mechanism of the running gear is controlled to produce a forward or rearward drive. of the automobile, there will now-be taken up the mechanism where- 'by the speed of the driving gear is controlled. I

As above mentioned, the wheels 13, 13 are mounted upon the shafts 14, 14 and are held in slidable relation thereto by the feathers 15, 15. The hubs of the wheels 13, 13 are grooved to receive collars 47 which are provided with pivot pins 48, 48 to receive yokes 49, 49 formed on the ends of levers 50, 50, pivoted at 51, 51 in-swin plates 52, 52

which are pivotally niounte at 53, 53 upon the frame 11.v The ends of the levers 50, 50 are connected by pull rods 54, 54 to a rock- 'ing triple arm lever 55, pivoted at 56 upon a late 57 which is mounted at 58 upon the ame of the machine. To the intermediate arm of the three arms of the lever 55 there is connected a pull rod 59 which at the forward end is secured to a hand lever 60, provided with suitable detents to engage the teeth of a quadrant 61, suitably mounted upon theframe of the automobile, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. The lever 60 is pivoted at 62 in a bracket set out from th frame 11 of the automobile.

' It will be observed that with the plate 57 maintained in a stationary position, the operation of the levers 50, 50 and the triple arm lever 55 is as follows :The extensions of the lever 55 at both sides of the center 56 are moved in o posite directions, causing the ends of the l rods 54, 54 are connected, to approach and recede from each other. This action at the outer end of. the levers 50, 50 produces an opposite action on the'inner or yoke bearing evers 50, 50 to which the ends of the said levers. 'The efiect of this is that when the lever 60 is moved toward the rear of the car, from the position in ing a lesser diameter, the resultant travel of the wheels 13,13 is slower than in the outer position. This lateral adjustment maybe made while thedis'ks 12, 12 and the wheels Y 13. 13 are running.

\Vith a speed, controlling gear such as depensed with the usual differential gear. p In the place thereof 1 have substituted the plate 57 which is pivoted at 58 and carries 'thepivot 56 of the triple arm lever 55. vExtended fromthe plate 57 is an ear63to form an open slotted construction to receive crank pin 64, which is formedon the end of a rod 65, journaled in an extension 66 set down from the framing member, and a bracket 67 extended from the framing member in the forward end of the chassis. At the for ward end of the rod is provided a crank pin 68 engaged with the free end of a connecting link 69 Which, in turn, is pivoted upon a tie rod 7 0 extended between knuckle arms 71,71 of steering knuckles 72, 72 forming bearings for the steering wheels of the automobile. The steering mechanism is suitably connected with the tie rod 70 to throw the knuckle arms 71, 71 to steer the automobile. In thus. throwing the tie rod 70, the rod 65 is rocked in such manner that the plate 57 is moved upon its pivot 58, and in thus moving the plate 57, thetriple arm lever 55 is moved laterally, without chan ing the pivotal position. The result of this action is that the rods 54,54 and the levers 50, 50, connected therewith, are simultaneously moved in the same direction. With the movement of the levers 50, 50, the wheels 13, 13 are shifted on the disks 12, 12; one shift is shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3 of the drawings. In thus shifting the wheels 13, 13, the wheel on one side of theshaft 8 is moved "toward the center of the disks'12, 12, While the other wheel ism%\ie d 1 1s action results in a diminution of speed in one wheel 13 while accelerating the speed in the other wheel 13. 'This actlon isproportioned to the rate of increase and decrease occasioned in the driving wheels of the automobile running in a curved path.

'With mechanism just above described, by reason of thefact that with-the shift of the steering wheels, the proportionate driving torque is likewise changedin the driving wheels, the tendency to skid is materially lessened. It will be noticed that whereas in other makes of machines, the differential gear operates in answer to the drag on the other wheel, in the present form of construction, the differential gear operates to cause the require'd variation in speed of .the two driving wheels. This forms a machine sensitive, but true, in its steeringaction.

With an automobile constructed as described, havingthe various groups of inst r u'- mentalities mentioned, the operation is as follows: Upon entering the automobile and having started the engine, the clutch 10 is thrown into enga ement to lock theerank shaft and the driving shaft 8. In this position the wheels 13, 13 are out of engagement 1 with the disks 12, 12. The lever 60 1s thrown back, from the osition shown in Fi 1, to 7 cause the whee s 13, 13 to a proac each other and the rotary renter o the disks. 12, 12. The pedal 46 is now depressed, causing 1 the levers 23, 23 to rock, carrying the boxes I 16, 16 topositioni as shown in" Flg. 2 of the 75 drawings, wherein the" wheels 13, 13 are forced against the disks-12, 12 in such manner as to drive the automobile in a forward direction. The wheels 13, 13 being in contact with the disks 12, 12 nearthe rotary 0 center thereof, the movement imparted to the driving wheels is veryslow. As the machine makes headway, the lever 60 is moved, gradually forward until the wheels 13', 13' are drawn outward,-over the face of the, 5 disks .12, 12, attaining gradually the full' peripheral speed of the disks'12, 12. The, automobile is, in this position,under full head. Onturning a corner, the steering gear is manipulated .to throw the-rod 70 and with it the knuckle arms 71, 71 to the proper steering positions for the steering wheel. In doing this the rod 65 is rocked to throw the plate 57 -to' alateral position,

wherein the levers 50, 50 are shifted to throw "the wheels 13, 13 to theposition shown in" Fig. 3 of the drawings. In this positionthe wheel 13 on the, outer side of the curved path produced by the steering .wheelsis impelled to move slightly faster than before being shifted, while the wheel'13 on the inside of the-curved path is impelled to move proportionately slower- The relative change:

' 1n speed between the two wheels 13, 13 corresponds with the needed change in speed of the drivin wheels for the automobile.

It will e observed that if thecurve be sharp the differences in s eed of the driving wheels will be eorrespon in 1y great, and if the curve be slight, the di erence in speed between the driving wheels will be corre- 'spondingly small. Having rounded the, curve, the steering gear is manipulated to straighten the steering wheels, and misc doing, the Wheels 13, 13 are shifted to their sired 'to reverse the driving direction, this is accomplished by now depressing the pedal .45, when the levers 23, 23 "would be shifted to move each of-the wheels 13, 13 from the disk 12, with which it has been engaged, to the other disk. In this position the wheels 13, 13 receive the required rotary motion to 3- "drive, the shafts 14,14 and the driving 32, 32. These also operate in such manner" wheels of the automobile, to cause the same to run backward. I

It will be observed that'the pressure exerted upon the disks 12, 12 by the wheels 13, 13, is regulated by the compressionsprings that. if at any time inthe driving of the ma chine the driving strain becomes too great, the springs 32, 32 yield to relieve such strain. Breakage in the mechanism may thus be prevented, and the springs 32,- 32 thus act as a I safety device.

Having thus described my invention, what- I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

1. A driving gear for automobiles compzising adriving shaft mounted upon the dy of the automobile; two friction driving disksfixedly mounted thereon in sepa-' rated relation; two short shafts extended to support-the inner ends thereof; a plurality of friction wheels one fixedly mounted oneach ofthe said short shafts and disposed between the faces of the said driving disks and having a peripheral surface adapted to successively engage the faces of the said driving disks; a plurality of transmission gears one mounted on .the outer'end of each of said-sho'rt'shafts; a plurality of transmission gears one fixedly attached to each of the. driving wheels of the automobile; a flexible connection between the said' transmission gears;'manually operated means connected with the inner ends of said short shafts to swing the same in directions opposite and substantially parallel to said driving shaft to cause each of the said wheels carried thereby to impinge upon one of the said friction driving disks; a plurality of levers pivotally mounted on the body of the mm. mobile and engaged with the friction wheels to move the same longitudinally on the said short shafts; a rocking lever having arms extended oppositely from the pivot thereof, each of said arms being connectedwith the free end of one of said levers; a pivot plate supporting and pivotally connected with the said rocking lever, said plate being pivotally mounted upon the automobile frame; means for manually operating the said rocking lever to cause the said friction wheels to move toward and away from the center of saiddriving disks; and means embodying the steering gear for moving the said pivot plate on its pivot center to laterally'shift the free ends of said levers.

2. A driving gear for automobiles comprising a driving shaft mounted upon the body of the automobile; two friction driving disks fixedly mounted thereon in sepad rated relation; two short shafts exten from betweenthe said disks to theisides of the body'of the automobile; a bearing for each .of the saidshafts mounted on the body of the automobile and pivoted to swing the said shafts in a horizontal plane; a swinging bearing for each of the said short shafts to sup ort the inner ends thereof; a plurality of riction wheels one fixedly mounted on each of the said short shafts and disposed between the faces of the saiddriving disks .and having a peripheral surface adapted to successively engage the faces of the said disks; a plurality of transmission gears one mounted on the outer end of each of said short shafts; a plurality of transmission gears one fixedly attached to each of the driving wheels of the automobile; a flexible connection between the said transmission gears; manually operated means connected with the inner ends of said short shafts to swing the same in directions opposite and substantially parallel to said driving shaft to cause each of. the said wheels carried thereby to impinge upon one of the said friction driving disks; a'plurality of levers pivotally Imounted onthe body of the automo: bile and engaged with said friction wheels to move the same to and from the center of said drivin disks; a rockin lever having arms extended in o posite dlrections from the pivotal center t ereof; means for connec ting the ends of said" extended arms on said rocking lever and the free ends ofsaid levers connected with the said wheels; a

pivot plate pivotally connected with said rocking lever and pivoted at one end thereof to the body' of the automobile; a suitable steering gear for the automobile; and transmission devices connected with said steering gear and with the said piv'ot plate to swing the said plate on its pivot and in unison with said steering gear.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination with the frame, thesteering wheels, and the driving wheels, of a driving shaft mounted on the frame, two confronting friction disks secured to the shaft, two driven shafts disposed transverselfto the driving shaft between the friction disks so as to allow the inner ends to oscillate in a horizontal plane, driving connections between the outer ends of the driven shafts and the driving wheels, a

friction wheel splined on each of said driven shafts, means connect ed to the inner ends of said driven shafts for moving them simultaneously transversely in opposite directions with the steering wheels fer moving said name to-the above specification in the presfriction wheeis 'slmultaneously in thei1 smile ence of two subscribing witnesses.

direction on't eir res ec'tive sha ts w ere steeringinovement the steering wheel I JOHN R 5 results in correspo'ndingdiflerential speed Witnesses:

of the driving wheels. L. L. STREET,

- In witness whereof I have signed my G120. WLWADEN. 

